Weekend cooking bonanza!

I was a very busy bee in the kitchen this weekend. You'd think I didn't have anything to do to prepare to move house in under two weeks. Yikes! But actually, I worked my kitchen time around cleaning out my closets and organizing papers etc. How have I managed to accumulate so much stuff in my life? Ugh. So far I've made two trips to Value Village (to their Diabetes Association drop off box anyway) with six massive garbage bags full of clothes, shoes and purses, and have empited my shredder twice working through the myriad of paper on my desk. The poor thing is in danger of overheating, so now I'm resorting to fill up grocery bags with shreddables and taking them into work, where a nice man will come and shred my six-year-old pay stubs for me (I don't know why I kept them either).

Anyhoo, back to the food. Yesterday I cooked a chicken to make broth, and managed to get two big soup recipes from it. I plan to freeze a bunch of it, based on the thinking that I'll be quite busy in the next little while, and it will be good to have some meals at the ready.

One of the soups I made was this sausage, lentil and kale concoction. It's from the latest Everyday Food and I'll definitely be making it again. (The other soup was plain ol' chicken noodle.)

Stat off by browning the sausage meat. I used some pork/garlic ones from Aubreys.

Then stiir in the celery and onion to soften.

Next go the stock and lentils. Cook until everthing's cooked.

Meanwhile, chop and de-stalk the kale. Healthy or what?

And here's the finished bowl. Yum, yum!

Sausage and Kale Soup (from Everyday Food)

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 celery stalks (with leafy tops), thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
1/2 cup dried lentils
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade)
1 bunch (about 1/2 pound) kale, preferably Tuscan, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1.In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add celery and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add lentils, broth, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer, partially cover, and cook until lentils and vegetables are tender, 25 minutes.

2.Add kale and season with salt. Return soup to a rapid simmer, cover, and cook until kale wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.